Deal with it

The sunglasses that took over the internet

2010 launched some of the strongest and most enduring examples of meme culture, including ‘Sad Keanu’, ‘Double Rainbow’ and ‘Trololololo’. Here we’ve selected ‘Deal With It’, using superimposed pixellated sunglasses as a retort in response to someone’s disapproval.

From the Inside
Deal With It

“This collage is a way to connect all the things that I ‘deal with’ in my life. Memories, obsessions, fears, joys, photographs, memories, questions, and simple ironies. The meme exists in this piece as a representation of this memory of 2010.”

Carolina is a Colombian artist based in Berlin. She describes herself as a muralist, painter, lover, human and woman.

The sunglasses that took over the internet

Weird, funny and often obscure, memes are a language unique to social media. The ability to creatively iterate on a theme has made them borderless.

2010 had some very strong contenders, including Sad Keanu, Double Rainbow and Trololololo, but our winner could only be “Deal With It”. As an example of how our language is influenced by a form of digital, viral communication it really is as good as they get.

The phrase is a “bold, self-assured declaration ordering someone to put up with something they may object to or to make do with a challenging but ultimately manageable situation.”

Google searches for “deal with it” spiked in February 2015 when Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid spoke at an indoor news conference wearing dark sunglasses indoors due to an eye injury. Social media users quickly incorporated him into the deal with it meme.

2011’s Nyan Cat, a GIF of a flying cartoon cat with a Pop-Tart body has been viewed more than 160 million times.

What else happened in 2010?

Pinterest launches

Lifestyle inspiration platform Pinterest arrives. Home decorating is never the same again.

Instagram launches

Instagram founder Kevin Systrom posts the very first photo to the platform. What is it? A picture of a dog, obvs.

Selfies take off

The front-facing camera on the iPhone 4 kicks off the selfie craze. Three years later, ‘selfie’ takes the Word of the Year title.

Facebook hits half a billion

Facebook hits 500 million users, and Mark Zuckerburg is named Time magazine’s Person of the Year. Like.